THE VALUE of equities traded on the Irish Stock Exchange fell by €44.2 billion in the first half of the year compared with the same period in 2008.

Trade values have dropped from €68.7 billion to €24.5 billion in the six months to the end of June, according to the Irish Stock Exchange market statistical review for the first half of the year.

The average daily turnover on the exchange has also slipped to €200 million from €554 million during the same period last year.

However, the number of trades dealt on the exchange was slightly higher, reaching 1.15 million trades compared with 1.12 million in the six months to June 2008. This reflects the big fall in equity prices since their peak in 2007.

The review revealed 13 companies raised €1.358 billion on the market during the period. However, the bulk of this was accounted for by the CRH rights issue, which raised €1.278 billion in March.

Meanwhile, turnover from Government bonds and treasury bills has doubled this year, reaching over €62.8 billion compared with €31.3 billion last year.

The National Treasury Management Agency raised €36.2 billion when it issued three new Government bonds and 11 new short-term treasury bills this year.

The value of the Iseq increased by 15 per cent and the Small Cap Index increased by 44 per cent during the period.